Page 73 of Vow

Hey, at least it was a beautiful hill.

TWELVE

Haven was entirely distracted by the report from yet another inspection of the club sitting in front of her. The hustle and bustle of a small Brooklyn café was practically nonexistent. Nothing more than a hum in the back of her mind.

“Are you looking at it?” Dale asked.

“Finally,” Haven said. “Yes.”

She’d printed off the report Dale faxed over from the investor’s inspector just before leaving the club after a weekly meeting with the employees. He had offered to come over and go through the report with Haven, but her empty stomach wasn’t having it.

Now, with a coffee and bagel in front of her, she felt a little more human and up to looking through the report.

The final report—or it was supposed to be. This was the last inspection that the investor wanted before the deal on the club could go through.

This was what she had been waiting for.

“So, what exactly am I looking at, then?” Haven said.

The official documents seemed like a lot of nonsense and legalese. Nothing that she cared to wade through to find the keywords she needed to say everything was good to go. That’s what Dale was working for, anyway. He wanted his commission. He could earn it, too.

“Basically,” Dale said, “the inspector gave the green light on everything. The investor is good to go whenever he is ready to sign the check, so to speak.”

Haven blinked.

Yeah, that’s what she wanted to hear. And yet, it was still a little surreal when the words finally reached her ears. All this time, and just like that, the wait was over. She didn’t really know what to do about it, or how to feel.

“Oh,” Haven said.

The realtor chuckled on the other end of the line. “You don’t sound happy.”

Haven rubbed at her forehead, and shook her head even knowing that the man couldn’t see it over the phone. “No, I am. It’s just … been a while since we started this process, I guess. Maybe I expected them to drag it on for another few months.”

“Well, the check isn’t signed yet.”

She heard the joke in the man’s tone, but she didn’t find it very funny, all things considered. Nonetheless, she let it slide.

“How long is it going to take to get the paperwork drawn up, signed, and finalized?” Haven asked.

“At most, a week or two. Probably closer to two.”

Two weeks.

That was all.

“I can do two more weeks,” Haven said.

Her house still hadn’t sold yet—a couple of low offers that made her roll her eyes before, sure. She was starting to think that maybe she should take a lower offer just to get the house off her hands, too.

That would make things simpler …

“Okay, well, I will get on the phone with the—”

“Haven?”

Dale’s voice cut off entirely in Haven’s ear even though she knew he was still speaking because she suddenly found herself staring up at someone she didn’t expect to see. Well, at least not in some random tiny Brooklyn café.

Andino’s father.